McEnroe has become a cliche. His 'tantrums' are expected and he plays them to the hilt. It's all part of the show...

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Unfortunately, his tantrums are no longer a show and are certainly not staged. Mac's intensity has seriously gone over the edge. His competitive fire is hotter than ever and he just can not accept losing. He looks to others to blame if things aren't going his way. His on-court behaviour is a disgrace to tennis. I really wish he would/could bring his commentator's demeanor to his on-court game.

I saw an interview where McEnroe said something to the effect of 'they used to fine when I blew up, now they fine when I don't'. It's all an act. He has nothing left to prove on the tennis court. He's giving the fans just what they came to see.

I saw an interview where McEnroe said something to the effect of 'they used to fine when I blew up, now they fine when I don't'. It's all an act. He has nothing left to prove on the tennis court. He's giving the fans just what they came to see.

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That sounds like Mac a few years ago, before he decided to train and get serious again. Trust me. He's most definitely a different animal now and he now plays as if he's got everything in the world to prove. And unfortunately, the promoters have no power to control him and he certainly can't control himself. Have you seen him play recently? It's not a pretty sight. I say this as one who greatly appreciates Mac's artistry.

That sounds like Mac a few years ago, before he decided to train and get serious again. Trust me. He's most definitely a different animal now and he now plays as if he's got everything in the world to prove. And unfortunately, the promoters have no power to control him and he certainly can't control himself. Have you seen him play recently? It's not a pretty sight. I say this as one who greatly appreciates Mac's artistry.

I for one think its a bit pathetic really his behaviour at 47 yrs old...this is the seniors circuit, lighten up for crissakes. Even Muster talks to the crowd now and has some fun with it...as most all the others do. He's just a jackass.

I saw an interview where McEnroe said something to the effect of 'they used to fine when I blew up, now they fine when I don't'. It's all an act. He has nothing left to prove on the tennis court. He's giving the fans just what they came to see.

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That's just what he tells himself to try to excuse and justify his behavior. People may like to see him arguing a little with the chair ump, but nobody wants to see him hurling racquets against the wall as hard as he can. I saw him do this in Charlotte, and it was scary, uncomfortable and appalling. I was truly afraid he was going to hurt someone; he was completely out of control. My immediate thought was, thank god I didn't bring my child with me, because I would have to explain to her why I thought it was okay to pay money to come here and watch this surly, freakish behavior. The spectators and the other players were embarrassed for him.

He is a train wreck and he needs serious psychiatric help. He brought the tournament down with his behavior and I am less likely to go again because of it.

McEnroe has become a cliche. His 'tantrums' are expected and he plays them to the hilt. It's all part of the show...

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Sorry, but what I saw in Memphis was not "part of the show". Fans were actually leaving his match because of his behavior. One man acutally yelled at McEnroe to shut up because his kids were with him. The main object of his ire was a buddy of mine who was calling lines. Dale didn't count the F-bombs because there were too many. If it were an act, McEnroe wouldn't have had the chair replaced....which he did. If it were an act, he wouldn't have had two linespersons replaced during a match...which he did. I really love his tennis, but his behavior has completely overshadowed it. Bottom line is he needs to shut up and play tennis or go home.

That's just what he tells himself to try to excuse and justify his behavior. People may like to see him arguing a little with the chair ump, but nobody wants to see him hurling racquets against the wall as hard as he can. I saw him do this in Charlotte, and it was scary, uncomfortable and appalling. I was truly afrain he was going to hurt someone; he was completely out of control. My immediate thought was, thank god I didn't bring my child with me, because I would have to explain to her why I thought it was okay to pay money to come here and watch this surly, freakish behavior. The spectators and the other players were embarrassed for him.

He is a train wreck and he needs serious psychiatric help. He brought the tournament down with his behavior and I am less likely to go again because of it.

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Your description of his behaviour in Charlotte is what I saw in Boston earlier this year. He needs help. I guess the promoters are making money off of him, but at what cost to the sport of tennis.

A friend of mine logics that it is his personality disorders combined with the drugs talking..that would explain such abhorrent violent volcanic behaviour..the guy is either simply nuts or a druggie or a combination thereof......to be 47 and still not have any sort of self control is just really bizarre..you cant blame stuff like that on 'the heat of competiton' or 'it's just a show'...it's severe dysfunction.

I think you need to be really igonorant or very inocent to believe that JMC's episodes of rage are staged or "part of the show". Of course is not, I believe it is really easy to see, when somebody is doing something out of humor or to entertain rather then being totally out of control. When you have an ego problem on the court as Mac had throughout his career, where he grew depedent on feeding on his rage n order to play better. You don't just loose that because it's the senior Tour or Whatever. If anything it tends to get worst and more problematic.. A lot of the players that have played practice sets with him, say that he is the same way when they are practicing all alone.

Imagine if everything could be excused by saying "is part of show" Somebody could do the most amazing things using that...

I would love to play mac and beat him bad. I know that I could, but I doubt that he will be calling me anytime soon. I never thought he was all that much of a player, I really didn't. But his serve had a lot of verve at one time and it freaked Borg, Connors and Gerulaitis out. It doesn't have anything on it now, and I would love to snack on it.

I would love to play mac and beat him bad. I know that I could, but I doubt that he will be calling me anytime soon. I never thought he was all that much of a player, I really didn't. But his serve had a lot of verve at one time and it freaked Borg, Connors and Gerulaitis out. It doesn't have anything on it now, and I would love to snack on it.

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Every commentator I have heard on the senior tour, including Courier, says Mac's serve is far better now than when he retired.

I would love to play mac and beat him bad. I know that I could, but I doubt that he will be calling me anytime soon. I never thought he was all that much of a player, I really didn't. But his serve had a lot of verve at one time and it freaked Borg, Connors and Gerulaitis out. It doesn't have anything on it now, and I would love to snack on it.

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It never ceases to amaze me how delusional amateur tennis players are about their abilities, especially compared to athletes in other sports.

I wonder how many recreational basketball/football/etc players think they are actually good enough to be in the same zip code as pros.

Guess that's why they market tennis as a sport for everyone, guys that work in a cubicle can actually convince themselves they are something special.

I see that you were born in 1977. I doubt you even saw Mac play in his prime(1984), or in person when he was on tour.

I for one think its a bit pathetic really his behaviour at 47 yrs old...this is the seniors circuit, lighten up for crissakes. Even Muster talks to the crowd now and has some fun with it...as most all the others do. He's just a jackass.

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Good point regarding his age.
When Connors was young we was a jerk as well. But as he matured he became a fan favorite on both the ATP and Seniors tours. Mac's game was always better than his antics, but sadly it is the other way around now. I doubt he will ever grow up if he hasn't done so by now.

Mac is a low life who happened to be a good tennis player with a dad with money enough to back him up. If he wasn't a tennis player, he'd be in jail or dead. What he really needs is for someone to punch him in the face!! I would just once love to see line judge break his bratty little nose. He's never had to grow up because he is rich and famous. Anyone whose seen him in person knows that he's just not a decent guy.

Mac is a low life who happened to be a good tennis player with a dad with money enough to back him up. If he wasn't a tennis player, he'd be in jail or dead. What he really needs is for someone to punch him in the face!! I would just once love to see line judge break his bratty little nose. He's never had to grow up because he is rich and famous. Anyone whose seen him in person knows that he's just not a decent guy.

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connors almost went at him once and shoved his finger in his face..mac backed down of course coward that he is. on the seniors, leconte had enough of him at one point and crossed over to the other side, got in his face, and mac backed down coward that he is. as long as he can do stuff w.o ramification he will keep doing it <kind of like the creepiest posters on this forum>. i was hoping just once, a linesman or player would just lose it on him...i think that would forever silence him, because people like that are just cowards like the people who attack others in a personal way on this forum as they hide behind their keyboards...

I would love to play mac and beat him bad. I know that I could, but I doubt that he will be calling me anytime soon. I never thought he was all that much of a player, I really didn't. But his serve had a lot of verve at one time and it freaked Borg, Connors and Gerulaitis out. It doesn't have anything on it now, and I would love to snack on it.

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i think u have a serious misconception about mac. his instincts at net were unparalleled. i can't see anyone get away with such an un-textbook-like technique at volleying. he didn't bend his knees, the racquet head was not level with his wrist, but still he generated amazing angles on his volleys, could hit volleys deep or drop them right near the net. he always seemed to be in the right position to intercept the pass.

his understanding of the game's dynamics was amazing. he was a genius on the court.

i read somewhere in borg's interview recently that mac was the main reason for borg's pre-mature retirement. he thought "this guy is only going to get better. and he's already beaten me at the Wim F and the USO F."

Sorry, but what I saw in Memphis was not "part of the show". Fans were actually leaving his match because of his behavior. One man acutally yelled at McEnroe to shut up because his kids were with him. The main object of his ire was a buddy of mine who was calling lines. Dale didn't count the F-bombs because there were too many. If it were an act, McEnroe wouldn't have had the chair replaced....which he did. If it were an act, he wouldn't have had two linespersons replaced during a match...which he did. I really love his tennis, but his behavior has completely overshadowed it. Bottom line is he needs to shut up and play tennis or go home.

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i'd love to be a linesman at one of his matches and give back to Mac what he dishes out. wonder if anyone has done that before?

There is no doubt in my mind that I would give Mac a very rough time. And when he retired his serve was down to a squeak. So what if it has something on it now. I never decided to go pro, but if I had, I think I would have been top two hundred, all the travel, just never appealed to me. Do you think Mac would still be top two hundred NOW?

Every commentator I have heard on the senior tour, including Courier, says Mac's serve is far better now than when he retired.

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Since the interest in the senior tour is greater if fans think the quality of play is higher....there is something self-serving in this. The players and commentators always talk about how high the quality of play is, to generate more fan interest.
They are great for their age...but an overthehill Rios' utter dominance of the tour shows that its a fair way from truly first rate pro tennis. Mac serve is unbelievable...for a 47 year old. If real pros were returning it, it would be exposed for the (relatively) slow curveball it now is.

Since the interest in the senior tour is greater if fans think the quality of play is higher....there is something self-serving in this. The players and commentators always talk about how high the quality of play is, to generate more fan interest.
They are great for their age...but an overthehill Rios' utter dominance of the tour shows that its a fair way from truly first rate pro tennis. Mac serve is unbelievable...for a 47 year old. If real pros were returning it, it would be exposed for the (relatively) slow curveball it now is.

Yeah, from other places I've read, McEnroe's serve is in the 110+ range. You can thank racket technology for that. That's a solid serve if you consider McEnroe's kick action.

Spadea's passage about McEnroe pretty much corroborates what he's like. He's cordial and friendly off the court; he's still the same on the court.

Difference now is that, after making himself out to be the biggest ******* when you play him, he may still buy you a drink after the game.

And also that McEnroe has ridiculous game speed for his age and that playing him, even as a top 100 player, is hard work. The anticipation is there. The footwork is sublime. The eye-hand coordination is still world class. And, oh yeah, even in a practice game, he wants to beat you bad.

There is a major problem with Mac, Rios & the rest of the carnival that is the senior tour, & that is there are very few rules on entry. Rios should not be there, nor should any player under 35. I wanted to support the seniors, but compared to the PGA it's very amateur. Also the players still demand large sums to compete (mainly to empty stadiums). I hope it gets sorted out, but there are a lot of problems. Johnny Macs antics are just Johnny Mac, always has been & always will be.

i'd love to be a linesman at one of his matches and give back to Mac what he dishes out. wonder if anyone has done that before?

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Then you'll never be a linesman. Linesmen...ehhhh linespersons (for you Fee) are instructed not to be confrontational. If they are, they lose their jobs. They are to report anything they think in violation of the rules to the chair who then dishes out punishment. If the linespeople don't obey the rules of the game, then there is no integrity left.

I remember that last Open McEnroe played with wood. He was serving so well the commentators guesstimated that his second serves were coming in at around 100 MPH. McEnroe's serve is as good now as then, but I don't know that it's better which is still awesome considering his age. I really think that the change has been more on the radar gun side than anything else.

Someone else pointed out that if serves were so much slower when Agassi started, how could he return better later against faster serves? It would seem that his skills would (and inevitably did) decline as he got to his later 20s, but he kept on going through his mid-30s.

His frustration actually looked pretty genuine today oncourt against Rios. He looked liked it meant a lot to him, smashing a racquet down onto the court. He fell over as he got broken in the first set to go doen 5-3 and stayed lying down for ages.

I was there - actually, I think today it was a lot of theatrics, I didn't look genuine at all. Also, if it were genuine it would have been ridiculous because most of those moments weren't such big deals.

I think part of what he does is staged and part comes from within. I am sure he experiences frustration because he would like to dominate the seniors tours just as he did the regular tour. But it s only because he knows that his behavior is tolerated (if not expected!) that he lets it out. Have you ever seen a little kid fall and hurt itself? In most cases it won't start to cry immediately. It will look around to see if there is someone to empathise and feel sorry for it. Only then will it start to cry. Otherwise the survival instinct kicks in and it gets up and carries on. Similar with Mac: the extent his internal feelings manifest themselves externally is conditioned by the environment and the expectations. It is not a question of one or the other.

If you read Bill Scanlon's book, he says that McEnroe does the tantrum thing not out of any genuine emotion, but rather he uses it just like he does his serve, to throw his opponents off. McEnroe never seems to throw a temper tantrum when he's winning...

I am glad that everyone is in agreement that Mac's behavior is unacceptable.

I am a full time tennis coach and will not use any videos of McEnroe for teaching purposes because he is exactly the opposite if what I want my students to behave like. I wonder as a junior, in high school, or in college how many people he cheating on line calls or stalled opponents in matches.

Why would anybody feel any enjoyment playing this guy knowing he is going to have a blow-up? What I can't figure out is after all these years is he still hasn't learned anything. He looks so unhappy playing the game, something that I tell all our students all the time, "You have to a fun" playing the game.

There is a 46 shot rally on You Tube with Federer and Hewitt which Federer loses the point but turns around and smiles afterwards. You have to admire Federer for this. Most people would get pissed off. You can only wonder how Mac would react.

The shame of it all is that there is nothing "Modern" about Mac's groundstroke game so I would never show footage of that anyway, however, his ability to hit on the rise and his volley techniques are far superior to any of the players today who struggle with the extreme grips.
As a commentator for the big networks I wonder why they haven't told him to either stop playing, or yank him. He is not a role model for future tennis players. Do the networks not see his split personality?

Unfortunately, his greatness is overshadowed by his bad sportsmanship and gamesmanship. We do not want future tennis players to think this is okay. My students will never know is greatness. Luckily, they have never seen him play.

Most people find it all hilarious. The crowds all love it, and they come in expecting to see tantrums and are disappointed if they don't. I don't see why anyone could get upset with McEnroe, other than the umpire. This is how he is and it's how he has always been. You know that he's a good guy off court and that he's one of the greats of the sport, so don't take it personally.

Again, if that's what you want to pay for, then buy tickets to his games. He is not entertaining to me anymore but there are a lot of people out there who are like yourself who do find him entertaining. Belittlling umpires and linespersons. People go to the race track aniticipating the crash. Everyone knows Mac is a spark and sparks turn into flames. I have even caught myself watching his games(seniors tour) waiting for the blow-up. Unfortunately, you can kind of time them when he is going to have a ourtburst. He is getting to predictable.

And that is what it is all about, selling tickets, entertainment. My only point is that we (as a sport) should not have to drive the game by promoting this guy. Bottom line, Mac tarnishes the image of our sport. How come our junior players cannot get away with the same behavior? I have always believed that wild animals like wild people we never meant to "Entertain" people.

Most people find it all hilarious. The crowds all love it, and they come in expecting to see tantrums and are disappointed if they don't. I don't see why anyone could get upset with McEnroe, other than the umpire. This is how he is and it's how he has always been. You know that he's a good guy off court and that he's one of the greats of the sport, so don't take it personally.

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I, for one, am very uncomfortable when Mac starts with the boorish behavior, even when I see it on TV. And I've seen some of it in person as well, and not just in competitive situations.

I was a freshman at Stanford in '77, the same year that McEnroe joined Stanford's tennis team for a year. (I tried out for the team; alas, not enough talent.) I would hang around the varsity courts sometimes and watch the team practice. One incident I remember was when Mac was practicing down-the-line backhands, and Stanford's coach, Dick Gould, said something to the effect of, "that's good, now try some crosscourts."

Mac replied, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Shut up, Dick."

So in my book, McEnroe is a Jekyll-Hyde personality, but the default personality is Mr. Hyde...

Unfortunately, these columns drive Mac's popularity, so this will have to my last post on this guy. My final point is that some people get enjoyment in seeing other people get berated and mistreated. They get their jollies out of it. Look at the popularity of the reality shows. Mac has tapped into this market. Financially speaking, I can't believe he needs the money, so you just have to wonder what he is all about.

I am glad that everyone is in agreement that Mac's behavior is unacceptable.... <snip>

Unfortunately, his greatness is overshadowed by his bad sportsmanship and gamesmanship. We do not want future tennis players to think this is okay.

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I agree. (I made Mac look like a "saint," I was such a jerk in my teens. At 19 ... I grew up and just stopped.)

But I *wish* some adult would have knocked some sense into me earlier. (And I don't think anyone ever has with Mac.)

As a Teaching Pro and a Coach ... I made it very clear I would not abide churlishness on my courts. (As a Coach, I had to default a player only once. The rest of the kids knew I was serious after that....)

Most people find it all hilarious. The crowds all love it, and they come in expecting to see tantrums and are disappointed if they don't. I don't see why anyone could get upset with McEnroe, other than the umpire. This is how he is and it's how he has always been. You know that he's a good guy off court and that he's one of the greats of the sport, so don't take it personally.

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No one thought it was hilarious in Charlotte. The crowd was very, very quiet, uncomfortable, and impatient for play to resume.

Was the crowd made up of a bunch of 60 year-olds? When I saw him play doubles in California, everyone started to laugh when he looked like he was about to blow it. He didn't argue with the ump, though. He just stood still for a few moments with his usual scowl, pointed his racquet at the linesman accusingly and then went on with play. I guess he's a little calmer when he is playing doubles.

Was the crowd made up of a bunch of 60 year-olds? When I saw him play doubles in California, everyone started to laugh when he looked like he was about to blow it. He didn't argue with the ump, though. He just stood still for a few moments with his usual scowl, pointed his racquet at the linesman accusingly and then went on with play. I guess he's a little calmer when he is playing doubles.

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mac's outburts are as predictable and boring and quite similar to when people laugh foolishly when a ball gets stuck in the net on the serve. it's not funny..regular people dont think it's funny as it is the same thing for many years..it's beyond boorish..the same scowl..yelling 'you can not be serious' yet another time stopped being funny back in the 80s. it's not good for tennis....it sets a horrible example as to how a sportsman should behave, and puts the sport of tennis in a bad light IMO.

as to him only doing it when he is losing...well yea...he really doesnt have a reasoin to do it when he's winning...he obvioiusly figured out early on that he could use his out of control tantrums as gamesmanship to throw his opponent off, which makes him even less of a real sportsman..he's a joke